GOOD TO THE LAST DROP THE STEELERS SURVIVED A FINAL-SECOND HAIL MARY TO END THE COLTS' IMPROBABLE POSTSEASON RUN

The football floated down seductively into the end zone, aboutto determine the fate of two proud teams, and Pittsburgh Steelercoach Bill Cowher's mind began spiraling out of control. He sawthe ball disappear and considered everything that hung in thebalance: a season, a stigma, a legacy. Either Cowher would becelebrating his newfound status as the youngest coach to take ateam to the Super Bowl or he would be haunted by anotherhorrific climax in the south end zone at Three Rivers Stadium.Cowher felt queasy. There were 61,062 fans gasping in unison,but Cowher heard nothing. A tangle of Indianapolis Coltreceivers and Steeler defenders hit the ground where the ballcame down, but Cowher watched none of that. As he stepped ontothe playing field, his eyes locked 30 yards downfield on thearms of back judge Tim Millis. The clock expired, time stoodstill, and what Cowher saw next seemed to happen in slow motion.

"All I could look at was the arms," he said later, after theSteelers had advanced to the Super Bowl for the first time in 16years with a 20-16 victory over the Colts on Sunday. "Would hewave them horizontally, or would they go vertically? That was mylife: horizontal or vertical? Then I saw him make thatmotion--incomplete pass--and I knew we were there."

At 38, in his fourth season at the helm of his hometown team,Cowher had achieved the objective of his dreams. Nearly twohours after the Steelers had won the AFC championship to earn aSuper Bowl XXX date with the Dallas Cowboys, Cowher was stillmarveling at the way it had all gone down. The Steelers had beentested as sternly as they had in last year's AFC title gameagainst the San Diego Chargers--one that ended in a 17-13 defeatafter Charger linebacker Dennis Gibson deflected a pass bySteeler quarterback Neil O'Donnell in that same south end zone.

In the 364 days since, Cowher and his team had overcomeobstacles, including the loss of several key players, andsurvived that Hail Mary thrown by Indianapolis quarterback JimHarbaugh on the final play of Sunday's game. When Harbaugh'spass fell incomplete--after rolling off the body and hands ofColt receiver Aaron Bailey as Bailey was pulled to theturf--Cowher closed his eyes, raised his face toward the heavens,then broke into tears. Later, as he relaxed in his office withhis wife, Kaye, and other family members, Cowher was smilingmore broadly than he ever had after a football game. "Theemotions are just overwhelming," he said. "This game typifiedour season. We got into a tense situation, it looked bleak for awhile, but we kept fighting. This team has a confidence thatnever existed the three prior years, and that's what carried us.We've been like a championship fighter: We've taken a punch andgotten knocked down, but then we get up and fight you for 60minutes."

Though the Steelers entered the game as 11-point favorites, ittook every ounce of fight they could muster to subdueIndianapolis, a team that became one of the most stunningsuccess stories in recent playoff history. After a 9-7 regularseason the Colts upset the Chargers in San Diego and the Chiefsin Kansas City to get to Pittsburgh, where they matched thephysical Steelers blow-for-blow. Forget that trite Cinderellatag; these guys were more like Godzilla. Harbaugh preferred aboxing analogy: "A lot of people expected Peter McNeeley, butMike Tyson came roaring out of our locker room."

Unlike the Steelers, who were burdened all week with memories oflast season's failure, the Colts spent the days before the gamefeeling downright giddy about their shot at glory. Theymaintained that attitude despite the pregame jitters of theircoaches, who by Saturday's walk-through at Three Rivers hadtaken on some of the same shifty mannerisms that actor AnthonyHopkins used in his cinematic portrayal of Richard Nixon. "Thecoaches are driving us crazy," cornerback Ray Buchanan said lastSaturday as he lay on his hotel bed watching his alma mater,Louisville, lose to St. John's in basketball. "They weresnapping at us all through practice, and it's getting on ournerves. But we're still loose; we know we have nothing to lose."

Indianapolis got gutty performances from defensive tackle TonySiragusa; from receiver Sean Dawkins (seven catches, 96 yards),who played despite a chipped vertebra in his upper back that noone bothered to include on the pregame injury report; and fromHarbaugh. Captain Comeback became Captain Play-Action, suckeringthe aggressive Steelers into overplaying the run on numerousoccasions en route to a 21-for-33, 267-yard passing day.Harbaugh threw no interceptions and one humongous touchdown, a47-yarder to Floyd Turner that gave the Colts a 16-13 lead with8:46 remaining. The play was so hauntingly similar to the StanHumphries pass to Tony Martin that gave the Chargers theirwinning points in last year's title game that you could almostsee the Pittsburgh players shrivel up on the sidelines.

With nearly 3 1/2 quarters in the book, the Steelers had this toshow for themselves: two Norm Johnson field goals and a bogusKordell Stewart touchdown catch. (Stewart caught a five-yardpass from O'Donnell 13 seconds before halftime after three timesstepping out of the back of the end zone, but game officialsmissed the call.) The season was slipping away. "There was somuch tension on the sidelines, it was scary," said Pittsburghreserve tackle James Parrish, who has spent time with seven NFLteams, including Dallas, the San Francisco 49ers and the Colts."These guys are haunted by the past, and after that touchdownpass, it was like the nightmare was being revisited."

The 1994 Steelers had been a fun-loving bunch, as evidenced bytwo events that took place the week leading up to last year'sAFC title game--the filming of a Super Bowl rap video and thethrowing of a party that John Belushi and his Animal Housebuddies would have loved. The party was hosted by tight end EricGreen, who after the season signed a free-agent contract withthe Miami Dolphins. Asked last Friday to recall the bash, whichwas held at a Pittsburgh nightspot, tackle Leon Searcy offered aguilty smile. "Unfortunately, I was in the midst of all thatsin, and so were a lot of guys," he said. "I love Eric Green,but I promise you this: If he threw a party before this game, noSteeler would be anywhere around it."

This is not surprising, considering that earlier this year theSteelers became what is believed to be the first professionalsports team to ban pagers and cellular phones from theirpractice facility. The move was initiated by two veterans, starlinebacker Greg Lloyd and fullback John L. Williams, in aneffort to save the season: The Steelers were 3-4 and, asWilliams says, "were in danger of getting used to losing." Soout went the cell phones.

There were also more substantive changes that led toPittsburgh's subsequent eight-game winning streak. Cowher metwith offensive coordinator Ron Erhardt and told him to getStewart, the team's second-round draft pick, into the offensivemix. While Stewart's presence was energizing the offense duringthe second half of the season, the defense was taking fewerrisks. With star cornerback Rod Woodson sidelined by a torn ACLin his right knee, which he suffered in the season opener,Cowher and defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau took the Blitz outof Blitzburgh. Cowher also made several position changes, mostnotably the one that moved All-Pro safety Carnell Lake tocornerback. Not only did Lake excel, but the Steelers' other newstarting corner, Willie Williams, also became a standout player.Woodson returned to practice last week and hopes to play in theSuper Bowl, but it's not as if the Steelers are desperate. OnSunday, Williams made a spectacular shoestring tackle ofIndianapolis running back Lamont Warren on a third-and-one playto set up Pittsburgh's winning drive.

The Steelers took over at their own 33 with 3:03 left, andO'Donnell (25 for 41, 205 yards) helped to erase his image as aplayer who gags under pressure. To O'Donnell, the Charger defeat"was always in front of my face." Against San Diego, hisfourth-and-goal pass from the three never made it to halfbackBarry Foster, prompting the presence of a banner reading 3 MOREYARDS at Pittsburgh home games this season. With 2:25 to go onSunday, O'Donnell faced fourth-and-three from the Indy 47, tooka shotgun snap, stayed in the pocket for what seemed like aneternity and fired a nine-yard completion to receiver AndreHastings.

On the next play O'Donnell said to receiver Ernie Mills, "Comeon, Ernie, let's go." Replied Mills, known to teammates asE-Thrills because of his penchant for dynamic catches, "Justgive me a chance." The play was 80-Semi-move-Go. The Coltsblitzed, but the Steelers were waiting with theirmaximum-protection package, and O'Donnell launched a perfectpass down the right sideline. Mills had broken free by puttingan up-and-out move on cornerback Ashley Ambrose, and he cradledthe pass while dragging his left foot before going out of boundsinside the one-yard-line. Two plays later Bam Morris bulled intothe end zone, and Pittsburgh had its winning points.

That drive would have extinguished a typical team, but Harbaughseems determined to reinvent himself as a sloppy version of JoeMontana. If you like football, you simply must love this man.Scrambling for his life in the final 90 seconds, Harbaugh fireda fourth-down completion, dislocated the index finger on histhrowing hand, popped it back into place between plays andeventually got the Colts to the Steeler 29 with six secondsleft. His Hail Mary pass was there for Bailey's taking, butSteeler defenders Randy Fuller, Myron Bell and Darren Perrycollided with Bailey to help jar the ball loose. Bailey scoopedit up on the first hop and appeared to have scored, but the passwas called incomplete, a call later confirmed by the replay.

The Steelers savored the moment. Among the more animated playerswas long-haired linebacker Kevin Greene, who vows to trim hisflowing blond locks if the Steelers win the Super Bowl. Afterleaving the locker room, Greene stood atop a snowbank outsidethe stadium and told 1,000 delirious fans, "Let's go out andkick some ass in the Super Bowl."

Most coaches would cringe at such a bold display of attitude,but Cowher is no buttoned-down paranoiac. Two hours after thegame, with about 100 hearty fans remaining, Cowher strode to thesame spot where Greene had delivered his exhortation andone-upped the wild-man pass rusher. Cowher tried to quiet thefans, but they kept yelling for his autograph. "Hey!" hescreamed, holding out his hands to command their attention. "Letme tell you something. We're not just gonna go to Arizona; we'regonna go there and win. And then I promise: I'll come back hereand sign everything and anything."

He turned away from the throng and strode back to his officelike a champion.

COLOR PHOTO: GEORGE TIEDEMANN The Steelers covered Bailey (80) with a curtain of defenders, but he still almost stole the show. [Aaron Bailey attempting to catch football while surrounded by Pittsburgh Steeler defenders]COLOR PHOTO: KEITH SRAKOCIC/AP [See caption above--Aaron Bailey attempting to catch football while surrounded by Pittsburgh Steeler defenders]COLOR PHOTO: AL TIELEMANSMills's balletic fourth-quarter catch set up what proved to be Pittsburgh's winning touchdown. [Ernie Mills catching football]COLOR PHOTO: AL TIELEMANS Captain Comeback resembled Captain Crunch after getting hit by Brentson Buckner (96) and Lloyd. [Brentson Buckner and Greg Lloyd tackling Jim Harbaugh]COLOR PHOTO: JOHN IACONO The Colts corralled Morris on this dive from the one, but Bam bulled across for the TD on the next play. [Indianapolis Colt defenders stopping Bam Morris]